Effects of the Open Street Program in Santiago Chile: Evidence from Five Initiatives

Abstract

Background Like many developing countries, Chile has undergone important epidemiological and nutritional changes in the last thirty years: while in 1988 6% of men and 14% of women were obese, in 2016 nearly one third of all Chileans were obese, and two out of three were overweight. More sedentary lifestyles are the norm: the last National Health Survey of 2009-10 showed that 91% of Chileans do not make any kind of physical activity (PA) in a regular manner. Aiming at tackling the obesity problem, the government launched a series of initiatives to increase the amount of PA made by people as well as to transform their dietary habits. An example of them is the Elige Vivir Sano Program of 2009, and the Ciclorecreovia Program, launched in 2006. Methods Subjects were interviewed during their detention stops in the Ciclorecreovia. A total of 401 participants of five Ciclorecreovias of Santiago located in areas of different socioeconomic characteristics, were surveyed using a questionnaire used in other Open Streets in USA (Hipp 2008) . Subjects had to estimate the time spent in the program, whether knew discovered new areas of the city or not, if they met new friends and whether they bought some merchandise while using the Ciclorecreovia, among other questions Results About 75% of users are able to reach the 150m PA recommendations made by the WHO, 88% improved positively their perception of the city and 64% discovered a new place in the city and 69% reported an improvement in their health as a result of attending the Ciclorecreovia. Conclusions In line with previous research that show that the Ciclorecreovia Program can help overcoming sedentary lifestyles in the population, while improving social cohesion and urban vitality.